Colonial Beach Schools are fully accredited

Posted on Friday, August 24, 2012 at 4:00 am

Dr. Donna Power, superintendent of Colonial Beach schools announced that Colonial Beach Elementary School and Colonial Beach High School are fully accredited and that the former Annual Yearly Progress is being replaced by Annual Measurable Objectives. This is because Virginia received a waiver to use its own evaluation system versus the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Virginia’s goals for its schools are higher than those used by NCLB, which is why the state received the waiver.

Power also noted that Standards of Learning (SOL) scores are still preliminary at this time as the school system is waiting for all retests to be scored and included in the updated scores. She did emphasize that the new math test had a state average pass rate of only 46 percent across all grade levels. The new math test was put into place in the spring of this year. From the preliminary scores, Power confirmed that the eighth-grade reading and science scores had improved across the board.

The school board postponed the vote on many policies until September so that all members could read the policies in their entirety. These policies are ones handed down by the Virginia School Board Association.

New CBES Principal Mary Fisher said there were lots of things going on to get the school ready for the 2012-13 year. The maintenance staff, technical staff, office staff, and others are all gearing up for the year, readying the buildings and classrooms for the year that begins on Sept. 4.

CBHS Principal Clint Runyan reminded everyone that schedule changes were being done last week and should be complete.

New teacher orientation began Aug. 20 for all new teachers. The school system is also still looking for substituted teachers for the upcoming school year. Applications are available at the School Board offices or online at www.cbschools.net.

The combined schools will be holding an Open House on Aug. 30 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

There will be a Senior Parent Information night on Sept. 13 at 6:30 p.m., which will cover: graduation requirements, checklists for college applications, and other information.

The Freshman Parent night is set for Sept. 26. Sophomore Parent night is Oct. 25, and Junior Parent night is Oct. 11. Each event is set to begin at 6:30 p.m.